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Battle of Chustenahlah
|place=Osage County, Oklahoma |result=Confederate victory |combatant1=Creeks Seminoles |combatant2= CSA (Confederacy) |commander1=Opothleyahola |commander2=Douglas H. Cooper James M. McIntosh |strength1=1,700 men |strength2=1,380 men |casualties1=250 total |casualties2=9 killed 40 wounded }} The Battle of Chustenahlah was fought in Osage County, Oklahoma, (then Indian Territory) on December 26, 1861, during the American Civil War. A band of 9,000 pro-Union Native Americans was forced to flee to Kansas in bitter cold and snow in what became known as the Trail of Blood on Ice. Confederate troops undertook a campaign to subdue the Native American Union sympathizers in Indian Territory and consolidate control. They attacked Chief Opothleyahola's band of Creeks and Seminoles (led by Chief Halek Tustenuggee) earlier at Round Mountain and Chusto-Talasah. Now, they wanted to finish them off by assaulting them in their camp at Chustenahlah (corruption of the Cherokee word "U-s-ta-la-na", meaning a shoal or sandbar in a stream or creek) in a well-protected cove on Bird Creek.Civil War in Indian Territory 1861 - Chronicles of Oklahoma: Volume 18, No. 3, September 1940 Colonel James M. McIntosh and Col. Douglas H. Cooper, commanding the Indian Department, planned a combined attack with each of their columns moving on the camp from different directions. McIntosh left Fort Gibson on December 22, with 1,380 men. On December 25, he was informed that Cooper’s force could not join him for a while, but he decided to attack the next day, despite being outnumbered and facing severe cold weather conditions. McIntosh assaulted the camp at noon. The 1,700 pro-Union defenders were secluded in the underbrush along the slope of a rugged hill. McIntosh devised a plan to converge on the crest, with the South Kansas-Texas Cavalry (also known as the 3rd Texas) ordered to charge directly up the steep bluff on foot. The 11th Texas advanced to their left using a defile for concealment, while the 6th Texas circled to the right. As the Confederate attack progressed, the Native Americans began to fall back, taking cover for a while and then moving back. The retreat became a rout as the Federals reached their camp. The Indians attempted to make a stand there but were forced away again by 4:00 p.m. The survivors fled; many went all the way to Kansas where they found loyal Unionists. Three hundred Cherokees under Col. Stand Watie intercepted the fleeing Creeks and Seminoles, killing 15 of them. Chief Opothleyahola’s band mounted no further resistance, and nearly 2,000 of them died on or shortly after the trek to Fort Row, Kansas, mostly due to exposure and disease.Bill Linde and Linda Niemeyer, "Opothle Yahola," Woodson County, Kans., history website, http://skyways.lib.ks.us/kansas/genweb/woodson/Yahola.txt . The victorious Confederates captured 160 women and children, 20 blacks, 30 wagons, 70 yoke of oxen, about 500 Indian horses, several hundred head of cattle, 100 sheep, and large quantities of supplies. Casualties were 9 killed and 40 wounded for the Confederates. Col. McIntosh in his official report estimated the Indians' loss as 250.Hughes, Michael A. Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. "Chustenahlah, Battle of."http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/C/CH065.html Order of battle McIntosh's Brigade (Confederate) – Col. James McQueen McIntosh * 5 Companies, South Kansas-Texas Cavalry – Lt. Col. Walter P. Lane * 6th Texas Cavalry Regiment – Lt. Col. John S. Griffith * 7 Companies, 11th Texas Cavalry – Col. W. C. Young * 4 Companies, 2nd Arkansas Mounted Rifles – Capt. William Gipson * Bennett’s Texas Company – Captain Bennett Principal Indian Commanders (Union) – Chief Opothleyahola (Creeks), Chief Halek Tustenuggee and Billy Bowlegs (Seminoles) References * National Park Service Battle Summary * CWSAC Report Update and Resurvey: Individual Battlefield Profiles * U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 70 volumes in 4 series. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1880-1901. Series 1, Volume 8, Part 1, pages 8–15. * White, Christine Schultz and White, Benton R., Now The Wolf Has Come: The Creek Nation in the Civil War, Texas A & M University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-89096-689-3. External links * Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Chustenalah, Battle of * Creek Indians in the American Civil War * On this date in the Civil War: December 26, 1861 - The Battle of Chustenahlah (150th Anniversary) <--coord from CWSAC survey /--> Category:Trail of Blood on Ice Category:Battles of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War Category:Confederate victories of the American Civil War Category:Indian Territory in the American Civil War Category:Osage County, Oklahoma Category:Forced migration Category:Forced marches Category:Conflicts in 1863 Category:1863 in the United States Category:Battles of the American Civil War in Indian Territory